Big Ten expansion sure to be hot topic at BCS meetings

Two weeks ago at the Masters, every wave, nod, sniffle and utterance from Woods was fodder for scrutiny and analysis.

Now it's Delany's turn, albeit on a smaller scale.

The Big Ten commissioner will be the epicenter of the Bowl Championship Series meetings that begin Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz.

For some, he'll represent Santa Claus. For others, the Grim Reaper.

For all of the Big Ten's woes in BCS games from 2007 to '09, the conference stands with the SEC atop the food chain, doling out an estimated $22 million per year per school in TV revenue.

Scholarships and lacrosse sticks don't pay for themselves, so schools want in on that money. Plus many fear a 16-team Big Ten, with arms that could stretch from the Great Plains to the Big Apple, will evolve into an even more powerful beast.

Schools left behind — say, Cincinnati and West Virginia from the Big East — face an uncertain future. There's talk of Big East football disbanding or having to dip into Conference USA for the likes of East Carolina and Central Florida.

Penn State's decision to join the Big Ten in 1989 played a role in the collapse of the Southwest Conference, the Big Eight becoming the Big 12 and the SEC adding Arkansas and South Carolina.

And when the ACC looted the Big East (Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College) in 2004-05, the Big East poached from Conference USA.

This time affected conferences could include the Big East, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-American, Western Athletic and Sun Belt. And many wonder if Maryland, of the ACC, is a Big Ten target.

So, yeah, Delany better keep a close eye on his briefcase.

Here are a few lingering questions:

What's the latest on Notre Dame?

Unless Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick is trying to construct the mother of all smoke screens, Notre Dame will remain in a conference of one.

During a weekend session with the school's alumni senate, Swarbrick said: "Our highest priority is maintaining football independence." A second priority, he said, is to support the Big East, home to the majority of its 26 teams.

The Irish would add millions in TV revenue by joining the Big Ten and save millions in travel costs, but the move to any football conference would be wildly unpopular among students and alumni.

What's the next step?

Delany on Sunday huddled with top conference administrators, including Michigan State President Lou Anna K. Simon, chair of the Council of Presidents/Chancellors.

If given the mandate to expand, as expected, Delany could notify commissioners of the affected conferences this week at the BCS meetings. Then he would formally contact the schools.

There's debate over whether the Big Ten already knows which schools it wants to add or whether the conference would then visit schools to analyze their operations, infrastructure, facilities and marketing potential. A look "under the hood," one Division I athletic director called it.

In what could be the final two steps, Big Ten coaches and athletic directors will meet in Chicago in mid-May, and the Council of Presidents/Chancellors will lock arms during the first weekend of June, also in Chicago.

According to the Big Ten's bylaws, an institution first must apply before earning the necessary eight of 11 votes needed for admission.

What's the hurry?

The Big Ten wants to give other conferences time to respond. But more to the point, it could take a while to integrate schools such as Rutgers, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Connecticut.

The Big East "loyalty clause," created after the ACC raid, calls for departing schools to pay $5 million and, more significantly, give a 27-month notice.

So barring a renegotiation, the parties would have to move quickly to get the jumbo Big Ten in place for the 2012-13 academic/athletic season.